1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining a type of object present around a vehicle.
2. Related Art
A known apparatus, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-37361, detects an object, such as a pedestrian or the like, present outside of a controlled vehicle (i.e., a vehicle mounting therein the apparatus) with a radar, and determines the detected object as an obstacle when a reflectance of the object is equal to or greater than a threshold. The disclosed apparatus determines a road class that the controlled vehicle is traveling by using a navigation device, and raises the threshold to a value greater than normal when the road that the controlled vehicle is traveling is a highway, on which an obstacle, such as a pedestrian or the like, is less likely to lie, thereby preventing an object, such as a manhole cover or the like, from being determined as an obstacle.
The apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-37361, however, is likely to determine an object, such as a manhole cover or the like, on a road other than the highway, as an obstacle. In addition, in a vehicle having no navigation device, the above determination technique cannot be implemented.
In consideration of the foregoing, it would therefore be desirable to have an apparatus mounted in a vehicle, capable of properly determining an object present around the vehicle as an obstacle.